Sony Pictures Television nabs Silver River

Company set to make further U.K. acquisitions

Sony Pictures Television has taken a majority stake in Blighty’s Silver River Prods. and is set to make further acquisitions in the territory.

It’s one of the first major deals orchestrated by Andrea Wong since the former ABC and Lifetime exec joined Sony Pictures TV as prexy of international production in September.

“The U.K. is a critical market, and SPT needs to be stronger here,” Wong said. “The earlier round of consolidation means a lot of the key players have already been acquired, and finding the right companies is a challenge — but you’ll see us be aggressive.”

SPT owns U.K. producers Gogglebox and Victory TV. Silver River, led by Daisy Goodwin, produces a range of primetime shows for U.K. broadcasters, mainly reality and docu skeins. Recent productions include “The Town That Never Retired” and “Off by Heart Shakespeare” for the BBC; “Sergeant on Spike” for ITV; and “Hidden Talent” and “Elizabeth Taylor — The Queen of Diamonds” for Channel 4.

SPT’s distribution arm will represent Silver River programs and formats internationally. Goodwin, who was formerly chief exec, now becomes prexy of Silver River and remains a minority shareholder.